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拍品專文
Yixing pottery very rarely enjoyed Imperial patronage although a small group of teapots with Kangxi and Qianlong marks are known. Interestingly all examples from this group appear to have been embellished using a variety of methods. A small number of Kangxi Yuzhi marked examples are embellished with famille rose enamels. It was during the Qianlong emperor's reign, however, that Yixing pottery became a part of court life and the Emperor showed a clear admiration for the material. The Qianlong Emperor seemed to have a preference for encasing the Yixing body using a variety of media including monochrome glazes, enamels, metal and lacquer.
Surviving teapots with imperial Qianlong sealmarks or inscriptions appear to be extremely rare. The paucity of extant examples is striking and may imply that those bearing Imperial marks were not just made in the imperial workshops but in fact made to be used by the Emperor himself.
The form of this teapot, known as known as a 'round pearl' form, is echoed in the symbolism of the open-mouthed dragon handle in pursuit of the 'flaming pearl' finial on the cover. This combination suggests a direct symbolic connection with the Qianlong Emperor who thought of himself as the worldly manifestation of the Buddhist god Manjusri. The 'Flaming Pearl' in combination with dragons may be considered the metaphor for perfection and enlightenment and the dragon a representation of the Emperor. The 'Flaming Pearl' of Buddhism alone, without dragons, symbolises the "Wish Granting" gem.
A very small number of examples of carved cinnabar lacquer decorated on an Yixing body are published. These include two teapots in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei. One of the two, of cylindrical form decorated with precious objects, was included in the exhibition, Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors, Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 142, no. 146. A further unmarked 18th century example from the K.S. Lo Collection in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong is illustrated in The Art of the Yixing Potter, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 150, pl.35. Finally, a similarly decorated Qianlong-marked square section lacquered Yixing teapot was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2002, lot 534
Four painted lacquer examples from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, three of which bear very similar gilt Qianlong six-character marks, are illustrated by Wang Jianhua, Yixing Zisha Wares in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2007, pp. 60-67, nos, 17-19. These include a pair of teapots and the author notes that lacquered Yixing teapots made for the Qing Imperial court were always made in pairs and that the plain Yixing vessels were sent to Beijing to be decorated by the artisans in the Imperial Palace workshops. This is further evidenced by the very small number of extant examples and high quality of workmanship on all known examples.
A plain Yixing teapot of almost identical form and size to the present teapot is shown on a table beside a Court official in a portrait illustrated by J. Vollmer and J. Simcox, Emblems of Empire, University of Alberta Press, 2009, pp. 234-5.
Yixing is located in the province of Jiangsu, west of Lake Tai, and tea wares produced from the Yixing kilns became popular with the literati during the late Ming period. This highly unusual choice of delicately carved lacquer over a Yixing body is a good example of Qianlong's taste for the curious and for innovative techniques.
Surviving teapots with imperial Qianlong sealmarks or inscriptions appear to be extremely rare. The paucity of extant examples is striking and may imply that those bearing Imperial marks were not just made in the imperial workshops but in fact made to be used by the Emperor himself.
The form of this teapot, known as known as a 'round pearl' form, is echoed in the symbolism of the open-mouthed dragon handle in pursuit of the 'flaming pearl' finial on the cover. This combination suggests a direct symbolic connection with the Qianlong Emperor who thought of himself as the worldly manifestation of the Buddhist god Manjusri. The 'Flaming Pearl' in combination with dragons may be considered the metaphor for perfection and enlightenment and the dragon a representation of the Emperor. The 'Flaming Pearl' of Buddhism alone, without dragons, symbolises the "Wish Granting" gem.
A very small number of examples of carved cinnabar lacquer decorated on an Yixing body are published. These include two teapots in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei. One of the two, of cylindrical form decorated with precious objects, was included in the exhibition, Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors, Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 142, no. 146. A further unmarked 18th century example from the K.S. Lo Collection in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong is illustrated in The Art of the Yixing Potter, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 150, pl.35. Finally, a similarly decorated Qianlong-marked square section lacquered Yixing teapot was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2002, lot 534
Four painted lacquer examples from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, three of which bear very similar gilt Qianlong six-character marks, are illustrated by Wang Jianhua, Yixing Zisha Wares in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2007, pp. 60-67, nos, 17-19. These include a pair of teapots and the author notes that lacquered Yixing teapots made for the Qing Imperial court were always made in pairs and that the plain Yixing vessels were sent to Beijing to be decorated by the artisans in the Imperial Palace workshops. This is further evidenced by the very small number of extant examples and high quality of workmanship on all known examples.
A plain Yixing teapot of almost identical form and size to the present teapot is shown on a table beside a Court official in a portrait illustrated by J. Vollmer and J. Simcox, Emblems of Empire, University of Alberta Press, 2009, pp. 234-5.
Yixing is located in the province of Jiangsu, west of Lake Tai, and tea wares produced from the Yixing kilns became popular with the literati during the late Ming period. This highly unusual choice of delicately carved lacquer over a Yixing body is a good example of Qianlong's taste for the curious and for innovative techniques.